The Cult Next Door: Global investigation into a dangerous ‘religious’ group | 7NEWS Spotlight

the audience is advised that the following program  involves themes which could be disturbing for   some viewers [Music] tonight on Spotlight my  brainwashed side was saying wow we've uncovered   a cult using Suburban shopping centers to recruit  young Aussie girls the directive was to find tall   slim white women and their notorious leader I  100 believe that he was the Messiah it's taken us   across Australia to the US and here to South Korea  [Applause] you just lifted up my skirt and put his   hands into my underwear brainwashing them yeah I  was absolutely being grinched come here my Lord   they're all considered his bride are you the  Messiah this is the first time that any media   has ever been allowed behind the games  we're on our way to the compound [Music]   your shooting team so they're going to be  shooting us he has so much power over people he's a dangerous person they had told me to  put a gun to my head I would have [Music] hello I'm Michael Usher tonight the Sinister  Korean cult recruiting vulnerable young girls at   Australian shopping centers to be brainwashed and  then shipped overseas to become the sexual play   things of the cult's self-styled Messiah first  they take their minds then their bodies in our   six-month investigation we Infiltrate The group's  secret compound as two Brave survivors break their   silence to warn how almost any young woman can be  targeted almost anywhere in Australia peregrino [Music] [Music] how would you describe JMS in one word [Music]   I think he's just he's disgusting just  [Music] peace sickens me psychopath I think of JMS as a predator very dangerous and   if he doesn't hurt people in one  way he will hurt them in another [Music] we've been investigating this cult for  six months it's taken us across Australia to the   US and here to South Korea when we started we  knew there were serious allegations of coercive   control and various forms of abuse but we had  no idea just how Sinister this organization is   what we've uncovered now involves the sex  trafficking unit of the Australian federal police I love you my Lord hug me tight when a  man hugs a woman he gets so damn hard Melbourne Central this is where your life  changed forever yeah yeah it's really true   my trajectory and my path in life changed because  I came here to meet a friend for bowling one day   and just happened to be in the wrong place at the  wrong time in 2014 Amy was 22 with a blossoming   interest in Christianity when a chance encounter  would change her life I was in Melbourne Central   Station the shopping center all of a sudden  somebody tapped me on my shoulder I turned   around and two girls were smiling at me and they  asked me to do a survey with them about my faith   and at the time I was a fairly new Christian I  had been exploring Christianity for the past years   and actually that month even that exact month I  was baptized and so I was pretty like fresh and   pretty like excited to talk about um my faith and  I gave them my number a few days later they gave   me a message and I met with them I think a week  or two later one group Bible study a week became   two and then one-on-one lectures were introduced  Amy felt heard she felt respected and it felt good   the love bombing and things like this that  they do that the way that they make you feel   very accepted and very um chosen as well it all  like it fed me in a very big way I think and I I   don't think there's many people in this world that  don't appreciate that kind of attention and love yeah feeling accepted like I thought I'd finally   found my my place where I can be  comfortable and be myself I guess Liz is this where you were recruited yeah  this camera Center was the instance where   I first met the first person  that tried to recruit me yep   Liz was 18 when she was first  approached by a recruiter   and she said we're doing a Christian like art show  can I send you some of the art that we're working   with we're basing all this art off Biblical  characters and we'd love you to be you know   one of the models for that I was 18 at the time  I thought that sounded really fun and exciting eventually they said well do you  want to do some Bible studies with   us and I absolutely jumped at that chance  because these people made me feel very   at home and seen and welcomed and loved and they  were very warm it also came at a time when Liz   was particularly vulnerable I had had an eating  disorder when I was 17 18 but I was still in very   much a healing phase of my life I just finished  year 12 and I was on a gap year so I was looking   to travel I was working part-time and I was also  thinking about what I was going to do with my life   you were perfect yeah I was really really primed  I was in a really good position to be um I guess   susceptible to psychological coercion and they  definitely took advantage of that yeah [Music]   there is just an enormous amount of deception  in the recruitment process of Providence [Music] people might not even know that it's a religious  organization that they're being recruited into   they might be approached for example uh that this  is an opportunity to become a model most people   think that it only happens to stupid people or  emotionally distraught people or damaged people   and that's completely untrue ask yourself this  do you have a friend that's been involved in an   abusive controlling relationship it's very similar  to that Rick Ross has helped more than 500 people   escape Cults from around the world as a cult D  programmer he knows all about their brainwashing   techniques it happens in increments bit by  bit step by step and before you know it you're   completely immersed in the group and socially  isolated it started off small but it did escalate   quickly they started to I guess sink their things  into me like more and more so it started with just   one Bible study a week and then they would ask  me to come to their house multiple times um to   do prayer and then eventually um they even got  me to quit my job that I was working at the time [Music]   Amy went to live with other cult members in this  apartment Block in Melbourne's docklands meters   away Behind These non-descript doors is the church  which controlled every aspect of their lives   yeah this is like this is like a prison  what were you looking for and what did   they provide you with it fed me in a very big  way I think like I thought I'd finally found   my my place where I can be comfortable and  be myself I guess I believed that this was   almost an elevated version of Christianity  because that's how they pitched it to me founded in 1980 and arriving in  Australia in 1997. Providence   is led by one man who claims to have more  than a hundred thousand devoted followers   his name is Zhong young sock but he's better  known as JMS his core teachings are based on 30   principles of Life identifying him as the second  coming of Jesus Christ the Messiah [Applause]   I was indoctrinated because they  do it systematically they start   very easy very logically and they little  by little implant these things into your   brain and they're little by little  start to bring JMS into the picture   or as they call him like something new  like the teacher [Music] Providence is   completely animated by that belief that JMS is  God that he is the Messiah that he is the savior   and that he alone can solve The World's problems  [Applause] when people recruit for Providence   they're thinking I'm bringing someone into the  truth I'm bringing them into the light but what   they're really doing is increasing the Empire of  JMS creating more and more people that will give   him money provide little compensated labor to  him and basically it's all about him it's about   people that will enrich him Empower him help him  eventually the recruited become the recruiters Amy   and Liz were tasked with finding more women just  like them shopping centers like Melbourne Central   and canberra's Anu as well as University campuses  across Australia a fertile hunting grounds   when it came to recruiting beautiful Caucasian  tall women uh it was kind of pitched to us as   the era of brides it was never explained  to us that that was one JMS wanted because   he was sexually deviant and Psychopathic  the guy is just a sick twisted predator [Music] at least this is the first time you've  been back here since you left the column yeah   first time in a long time what JMS demands is  complete Perfection and absolute obedience wow   it's all gone this is crazy in this cult house  Liz shared one room with four other cult members   they slept on the floor but most of the time they  were sleep deprived we were getting up like I said   at two or three a.m but we weren't allowed to eat  until about 12 p.m and so you're up for you know a   solid amount of time around eight hours before you  can actually ingest any food sorry I knew you had   an eating disorder yeah yeah yeah absolutely  yeah um but the way that they viewed it was   um all mental disorders are sin uh and so that  was an element of my sinful life so yeah we had   to cut out most carbs we were only allowed to eat  mostly vegetables a little bit of protein but not   too much that's bad for you with that incredibly  intense schedule and virtually no food and very   little sleep um a lot of us were getting quite  sick but then when I started to get too skinny   they said JMS didn't like it it was too thin  and that I needed to put on weight within the   cult is the concept of a faith star someone  who's not married but instead becomes a bride   of God and by extension a bride of JMS Faith star  candidates are first recommended by local churches before profiles and photos are  sent to Korea for approval [Music]   both Liz and Amy were quickly  identified as candidates   so looking back on this now  in hindsight Liz there is no   doubt that they were grooming you for him  yeah I was absolutely being groomed to be   assaulted molested raped by him with the cover  story of you being a spiritual bride correct yep she need a drink [Music] Professor you say the JMS has assaulted  many women how many women do you think   according to the reporters of  the JMS members OK said that   he said like this my aim is ten thousand  scores ten thousand ten thousand girls   so and I think that she reached his goals  almost three decades Professor Kim Dong   has made it his mission to expose JMS in 2001 his  reporting LED Korean police to begin investigating   JMS for sexual violence soon after he fled  South Korea and spent seven years on the Run he was eventually caught in Hong Kong in the  bush under a mosquito net with two young women foreign JMS raped two twins in Hong Kong we were so angry because he raped the twins at the  same time at the same night at the same same bed   so we searched for where he is and after  all we got to know that the exact place of so we reported to Hong Kong government but  for the Colts number one enemy it came at a   cost Professor Kim's family was threatened and his  father was banished physically attacked physically   attempted my father's face was broken all because  you his some were trying to expose them yes right as JMS lost grip on his freedom he also pretended   to lose grip on his sanity a farcical  attempt to be acquitted which failed in 2008 the Predator finally became the prisoner  sentenced to 10 years behind bars for sexual   violence against four members of Providence  aged in their twenties but not even solitary   confinement could cull the cult or stop the  abuse the prison at the end of this road is   also where Australian recruits Liz and Amy  would meet JMS in person for the first time   what had they told you about why he was there him  being in present for 10 years wasn't because he   he raped women it's because he is saving  all of Mankind's Souls at that point any   alarm Bells it made sense to me [Music]  Liz was told a similar story while she   wasn't worried her parents were and her father  drove to the cult house to try to rescue her   my leader told me to hide in a Cupboard and  my father came to knock on the door to try and   speak to me again and another leader opened the  door pretended they didn't speak any English and   didn't know who my dad was talking about when he  was saying my name then they closed the door on   him and so my head leader and a couple of others  packed me into their van in the back of the van   put a blanket over me and drove me to Sydney and  then the next day I was on the plane to Korea and was it that trip that you  then met JMS in prison yes   what was your interaction with him we sat across  from him he was obviously behind plexiglass he   came in in just a prison jumpsuit smiled at us  blue kisses you were 19 how old was he oh it   would have been in his maybe late 60s early 70s  yeah and you sent him photos prior to that yeah   so he had asked for us and our head leader  told us we needed to send just bikini shots [Music]   he'd written to me and said um that he stroked  our photos in the wall of his cell um and he'd   sent a lot of sexually suggestive letters to  me [Music] when you look back now and think   you flew to Korea to go and visit a convicted  rapist in jail yeah how does that make you feel um it's pretty gross all I can think is that   it's very hard to believe that happened to me  and I feel I feel sick thinking about it um yeah throughout his decade in prison a  parade of beautiful obedient young   female cult members visited him  all awaiting his release in 2018.   my only thought was that he was so old that  maybe his libido had dampened over the years   and that when he came out of prison that he  would not be the same I was uh wrong [Music]   what actually happened to you he just lifted  up my skirt and put his hands into my underwear   brainwashed side was saying wow  I'm being blessed right now and   Sarah Greenwich goes inside the  bizarre cult compound to confront   its leaders you have a convicted rapist  as the head of this organization still three hours south of Seoul this is the secret  of compounds built for the Korean cult leader   known as JMS for three weeks in 2012 it was  where Liz was based after leaving Australia   from here she was taken to visit JMS in jail she  was one of the chosen ones being groomed for his   pleasure in anticipation of his release yeah  my parents had no idea I was overseas [Music]   but when Liz returned to Australia her mum  with the help of Colt D programmer Rick Ross   staged an intervention well what I remember  about getting Liz out is how thin she was how   frail she was how frightened she was she was  literally terrified of the idea of leaving   Providence with their support Liz Found the  courage to leave and then began speaking out JMS took it personally an act of betrayal by  one of his chosen Brides but it didn't stop his   abuse of other vulnerable women hug me hug me  tight what you're about to hear is confronting   they love the Lord I love you my Lord [Music]  it's audio recorded by Maple a member of the   Providence cult who'd caught the eye of JMS  in 2018 when he was released from prison after   serving 10 years for rape Maple was sent to him  and abused by him repeatedly reach me here again and hugs a woman it's so damn  hard you have such wide hips but she was Brave and smart and on the last  occasion in 2021 recorded what happened Maple has given us permission to broadcast the  audio in the hope it could help save other women   what was your initial reaction when  you heard her oh I felt so sick you can hear her sobbing  in the background yeah yeah make sure that nobody touches this because  this Belongs to the Lord oh um yeah uh no words I no words for that [Music] for Amy this audio is particularly haunting  given what JMS allegedly did to her [Music] after his release she was encouraged by  leaders to leave Australia and travel to   the Korean compound to repent some sins but  JMS had other plans for his bride of Christ I know this is going to be really difficult  but could you detail for us what actually   happened to you so essentially I  was sexually assaulted five times   I was asked to um go into a room with  him and there was a translator present it was initiated very quickly it was very quick  interaction really I came in it was initiated   that I should take off my clothes and that he  would dress me he would dress you yes he was good   there was two racks of clothing and he was going  to go through them and just chew something out   for me and that's what he did after he addressed  me he went and sat down on a chair and he asked   me to stand in front of him and then he began  speaking to me and at that very pretty much the   moment he started speaking to me he just lifted  up my skirt and put his hands into my underwear   and for that whole five minutes he was just  while he was talking to me just like you   know normal conversation although it's not  really normal it's just him talking at me   um he was he just was touching me I was in  shock definitely the second that happened   I looked to the translator and I just gave her  this look like what what is this and she she's   she just said like don't worry about it like  it's fine she kind of like um initiated that   with her lips and face so I looked back and my  body is visibly shaking like I was shaking and   I was thinking so many things like it definitely  it popped into my head straight away is this a   cult would God's body really do this to someone  like would the Messiah really do this [Music]   devastatingly it would happen four more times   despite Amy reporting him to one of the Cults  female leaders she educated me around it saying   that you know he's your husband um you know  in the world too can't the husband do that   kind of thing to their wife it's the same  here you're the bride you should be thankful   it's your blessing confused betrayed hurt Amy  decided to leave the compound and leave Korea Goodbye old room this is it my last day in gensan this room I spent so many hours in this room crying praying being angry being happy but  mostly angry and now I'm going to say goodbye coming up Liz you've told me that you  feel guilty about what happened to Amy   why do you feel that killed also tonight we are  right now heading to the cult compound this is the   first time that any media has ever been allowed  behind the Gates this is where they were assaulted back in Australia it would take almost a year  before Amy left the Providence cult entirely and understandably returning to Korea for her  and for Liz is confronting and has taken a lot   of Courage but they're here to help bring down  the maniacal Messiah who shattered the lives of   thousands of women for Liz it's especially  important that she's here to support Amy Liz you've told me that you feel guilty why do you feel that killed oh yeah  um John kind of viewed her as the   the recruit to replace me a lot of  the anger or vindictiveness that he   um might have had towards me leaving might have  been directed you know at you and taken out on you   from the moment that I met him in person one of  the very first things that he ever said to me is   you remind me of someone and then later  on that was explained to me that I was   going to I had been chosen by God to replace  Liz to be the better version of her and they   put that in my brain and during that first  sexual assault he said the same thing to me   he spoke about Liz in a really disgusting way  he said he asked me if I knew you and I said   um I never met you that I came after you left  and he said you're more beautiful than her   which is I don't think so at all but anyway um  and he was so disgusting he even he went like this   like a child uh she's she's ugly at her like that  and it was at this time mind you he's molesting   me at this exact moment why he's telling me all of  this yeah that this is his way of mending his own   um his own hurt that came from losing  you just like a narcissist would in a   domestic abuse relationship like  just transfer the Revenge yeah last year Amy joined forces with Maple  the woman who recorded the audio of her   rape and went to the police with their  allegations of his depraved assaults JMS now faces 17 charges of sexual  assault against Maple and a further   five charges against Amy in April  these two strong women took the stand   and now finally the time has come to stand  before the judges I'm feeling definitely nervous   to take on a leader like JMS and to call him  out and hold him accountable for his behavior   it takes enormous courage and if people do  not have the courage to come forward and   tell their stories uh they can get away with  it again and again and hurt even more people   Liz is here to support Amy every step of the way  the qualities that they Target in a new recruit in   um in especially the women they recruit are  people who are willing to passionately commit   to something at the expense of everything else and  it works really well for them when you are in the   group but once you come out it absolutely works  against them and yeah I mean here we are we're   back and we're we're with a Vengeance yet almost  all for me anyway I feel like a part of a part of   this is not just raising cult awareness but a  part of it is an act of Revenge almost [Music]   foreign this is something that has to be  done he's a dangerous person and I don't   want this to happen to any single  person ever again and it shouldn't   even if that means there are risks involved for  you yeah coming up then me and you feel me answer   is that then what on Earth Sarah Greenwich goes  inside the bizarre cult compound to confront its   leaders I swear he can freely commit his crime  absolutely yeah yeah I know be very dark in here   without the lights on later we want you to stop  attacking us threats and intimidation we have   a lot of big people as the cult Strikes Back  Maria Are you ashamed of your behavior [Music] providence's secret Korean compound  has remained strictly off limits to   those unindoctrinated in the ways  of the cult but tonight we become   the first ever Outsiders to set foot  inside the bizarre Global headquarters while I was in Seoul in South Korea we  got a call from senior Providence cult   members a meeting was arranged it's quarter  past nine at night not usually the time you   have a meeting with someone but after talking to  these cult leaders for several days they've just   messaged and they have agreed to me at Seoul  train station three senior cult members were   there to greet us taking charge was a woman  who calls herself the promotional director fair to say that we didn't trust  them and they didn't trust us   Sarah but they did agree to consider  letting us in to the cult compound an hour and a half of Providence propaganda  including things they've given us to read uh   we got lectured on Christianity the Bible but the  thing that hits you the most is they don't have   as character of empathy for the victims [Music] [Music]   after a loss of negotiating we  are right now heading to the   cult compound it's about two and  a half hours south of Seoul this   is the first time that any media has  ever been allowed behind the games foreign [Music]   Hello nice to meet you our carefully selected  tour guide is Steve under the watchful eye of   38-year member chai young Kim so they're going  to be shooting us our first stop biblical   Proverbs written in Korean by jmx they've  got dates on them and a signature what's that of of JMS he's right he wrote These yes yes yes so when these groups set up Retreats isolating  members from their families from Old Friends   they're trying to manipulate them and control  them in an environment that they dominate   this is the holy spirit waterfall yeah and James foreign foreign [Music] [Music] this is a 250 kilogram rock that SSN  which I think stands for JMS carried from   somewhere to his home at the age  of 18. monuments do not touch what's this silhouette over here is this  a painting of Germans it looks like JMS um often when we were in the compound there were all  these people that would come to him with all kinds   of things what are those things that I saw quite  often was a woman would come to him with a booklet   like a plastic folder and in that folder there  would be these pictures of different women with   some sort of description maybe it was their height  or you know just some sort of information about   them using these photos of them for him to pray  over and like um like you know get him to kind of   um pick his victims yes so like a giant lookbook  of potential victims yeah like a lookbook yep yep yep so this is James's house oh yes can we go  inside no it can't stop talking oh it's private   I just see it as a very haunting place because  that is a place where 99.9 of his sexual   assaults took place women were completely  taken advantage of and used and abused and   um yeah just a really disgusting Eerie place I I  would never ever want to step foot in there again not the magical spiritual Garden  that it's advertised as on the   website exactly uh yeah definitely not it's yuck you know it's got It's got caves  that you go in you can pray in but   that might not be the only thing  they used for like I don't know   um the extent of what goes on there but you  could feel it in the air is that one of the   caves I think that the caves were purely  created not as a place to be if you come   and pray in silence they were a place that he  could take women in and do whatever he wanted   because there's no cameras and there's no one  to see him that's exactly why that cave was made   um and I was assaulted in that cave as well  so I know and I've seen other things happen   in that cave too so yeah yeah really airing  a place where he can freely commit his crime   absolutely yeah yeah no one's watching Oh I  wanna I'd like to say that can we see yeah oh there's a gate I'm happy to take a risk yeah [Music] be very  dark in here without the lights on careful [Music]   Steve you said James would come down here to  pray some of his alleged victims say that this   is where they were assaulted preacher yeah  I know you know they say that oh [Music]   China you don't believe it you don't believe it so if he'd really done that you don't  think he would have done it down here   because people can come in  at any time it's still open   okay okay all right thank you Sarah he  wants to rephrase oh okay um [Music] oh I understand okay so I guess it's going to be tested in court now   um but thank you for showing us we  appreciate it thank you thank you [Music]   please [Music] Mr Young is  the lawyer representing JMS Sarah nice to meet you and unsurprisingly  says all the allegations are false music what is your view of sexual assault is it  acceptable or unacceptable yeah it is unacceptable   unacceptable and yet you have a convicted rapist  as the head of this organization still why is that um have you ever paid a woman who is claiming that  she was sexually assaulted to be silent yeah while in Seoul Professor Kim who's been  campaigning against Providence for nearly 30   years revealed to me the offer that had been made  to him to buy the Silence of Amy and maple so just   to clarify a JMS member came to you and said that  they would pay these two girls to drop the case you've never made someone sign a contract I guess you won't speak about it yeah it's a  pretty big thing we kind of need to know   has it happened where there has been a woman  who has claimed that she was assaulted and   there has been money provided to her and she  agreed not to speak out has that happened so it's a no document no comment yeah that  indicates to me that it could have happened while jms's lawyer was avoiding a straight  answer other cult members were being more direct   we want you to stop we want you to stop attacking  us and to stop taking actions against us   do not hear this strong warning that we are  giving you we will have a press conference   against you and we will reveal every unfortunate  unethical and immoral thing that you have done   while we were filming Amy shared this video sent  to her by the Sydney president of Providence we   don't want to do this but again we need to do  this to protect myself and other beloved ones   that will be affected by your attacks we don't  want to do this because this will detrimentally   affect your life and definitely your future  career if you don't want us to do this then   please contact me and stop attacking Providence  and contact me so that we can have a discussion   it's completely warped and she's completely  deluded up next despite having a flood   of serious allegations against it here in  Australia this cult is registered as a charity   do you think you were trafficked and Sarah  Greenwich confronts the Colts Australian leaders [Music] authorities are now closing in on Providence  in South Korea targeting both its sex crazed   leader and the dedicated disciples who enable  his sex crimes from Australia local officials   Stand Accused of doing nothing to safeguard  the vulnerable young women targeted by the cult in Sydney we Tracked Down Maria nacelli the  president of Providence in New South Wales   Maria Are you ashamed of your behavior the one  who sent the threatening video to Amy we want   you to stop attacking us and to stop taking  actions against us but when you send a video   with your face threatening someone you've got  to expect at the ramifications for that we are   not ready to answer this question Maria what do  you have to say are you still praying to JMS we   will have a press conference against you Maria  you said you wanted to hold a press conference   in that video we're the Press we're giving you  a chance now to explain and we will reveal every   unfortunate unethical and immoral thing that  you have done your silence indicates to me that   you have zero concern and zero empathy perhaps  the laughter was from embarrassment perhaps she   just didn't care says a lot that you're more  concerned about protecting this organization   than protecting a woman but what is no laughing  matter the serious allegations against this cult when you look at it and look at the facts and who  knew what do you think you were trafficked I think   that I was but the system is so sneaky and well  established that even the people who thought that   they were doing the right thing and who may  have not even known what was going to happen   it just worked anyway [Music] it  is it is sex trafficking because   you are being brought somewhere against your  autonomous choice and subjected to abuse the problem is yeah if you do tell  law enforcement of course you're   going to say I chose to be here and  and what are they going to do you know I think the legal system has to develop a greater  understanding of the nuances of mind control and   psychological coercion because if they don't  then there's very little chance they'll be   able to catch anybody perpetrating these kinds  of crimes against others um because the people   will tell them that it they chose to be there a  spokesperson for the Australian federal police   declined our request for an interview but did  confirm they're investigating Amy's allegations flood of Syria various allegations against it  here in Australia this cult is registered as   a charity meaning that although it made more  than a million dollars last year it's exempt   from paying income tax one thing it is required  to do as a registered charity is to protect the   welfare and human rights of people connected  with its work that's people like Liz and Amy   in New South Wales Providence is registered as  the Lord's Hope Church it has different names   in different states but there is one question  we wanted to ask Charities commissioner Susan   Woodward is it being investigated  so there's one currently registered   in Australia that we do know about based in  Sydney that's called the Lord's Hope Church   has that been investigated I can't comment on  whatever any particular charity is or is not being   investigated I appreciate that you can't but we  can talk about this organization and I just like   to explain some details about what we know about  this group the Korean leader is a convicted rapist   he's currently on trial again in Korea facing 22  counts of indecent and sexual assault some female   members of this group who have been recruited  in Australia are brainwashed and then they're   assaulted and then they're told that that  is a blessing that they've been assaulted   they've been asked to send bikini photos  to this man while he's in prison they're   told what to wear what they should eat perhaps  most concerning is that a female Pastor who is   based in Sydney has threatened a woman who dared  to speak out about sexual assault your silence   indicates to me that you have zero concern  and zero empathy now I know you say that you   can't talk about individual cases but surely that  doesn't seem very charitable I can't talk about   that particular obligation now that I've told you  those details though is that enough to investigate anything that's as serious as you know sexual  abuse vulnerable victims yes that is what I   would describe as falling in that category  of safeguarding and certainly that is as   I say one of the highest order things that we  factor in when we're considering any particular   concern raised with us so could we have an  assurance that you will look into this group   I can't under the ACT I am not able to talk  about whether we will or not investigate any   particular charity okay this is a woman  called Maria naselli she's listed on the   website as the president of the Lord's hopes  Church in Sydney and this is a video that   she sent to the woman I won't be able to  comment no but I just like a particularly evidence if you do not heed this strong  warning that we are giving you we will   have a press conference against you so  this woman is the president of a charity does it concern you I know you can't  say whether you'll investigate but   I I can't respond to a particular person in a  particular charity under my ACT I can't discuss   that as I say we do have a phone line if people  need assistance with completing or notifying a   concern to us then certainly that's an option as  well my message to any kind of administrator over   charitable non-profit status to a group  like Providence is take a long hard look   is the purpose of the charity to help people  that are suffering or is it to enrich the   leader and ironically inflict suffering  I mean that is really at the core of it   is that a charity I don't think so as it  stands now the money should go to the victims   who are trying to rebuild their lives  and are probably going to suffer with   the effects of the trauma that they endured at  the hands of JMS for the rest of their lives they're not a church they're not a  charity and I think this needs to be   looked into because they're not a blessing  to society there are Menace so they need to   actually at least at the very very least if not  completely shut down pay their freaking taxes since Amy made her brave disclosures at least  10 other survivors have come forward with their   own allegations of sexual assault at the hands of  providence's cult leader a verdict in his criminal   trial is expected in October the contents of our  investigation have been provided to the Australian   federal police and the Australian Charities  commission and late last week we received a   statement from Maria nacelli you can find that on  our website we'll keep you across any developments   I'm Michael Usher thanks for your company  and we'll see you next Sunday [Music]

Channel: 7NEWS Spotlight

Views: 2,041,570

Keywords: News, Channel 7, documentary, interview, 7news, spotlight, feature, story, 7news cult, cult documentary, cult documentary 2022, australian documentary, south korea cult, korean cult, jms cult, providence cult, cult leader, jms korea, jms church, seoul cult, jms cult documentary, jms cult leader, cult survivor, cult survivor interview, cult survivor documentary, cult survivor stories, jeong myeong seok, latest news, jeong myeong seok now, jeong myung seok jms, jung myung seok

Id: WKYhDKCm1Io

Length: 54min 21sec (3261 seconds)

Published: Mon Jul 03 2023